Foreign Holdings Of US Treasury Debt Hit Record High

A close-up of the front of the US 10-dollar bill bearing the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, America's first Treasury Secretary, is seen on December 7, 2010 in Washington, DC. Various security features are imprinted into the bank note. Different denomination security threads have various colors which are visible when lit by ultra-violet light. The security features found in United States currency are selected after extensive testing and evaluation of hundreds of bank note security devices, many of which are used successfully by other countries with lower production and circulation demands. AFP PHOTO / Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Foreign buyers of U.S. Treasury securities increased their holdings to a record in December even though the two largest holders of U.S. government debt — China and Japan — reduced their shares. credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign buyers of U.S. Treasury securities increased their holdings to a record in December even though the two largest holders of U.S. government debt — China and Japan — reduced their shares.

The Treasury Department says total foreign holdings rose 1.4 percent in December to $5.79 trillion, surpassing the old record set in March of $5.73 trillion. Foreign holdings had fallen from April through July before rising again in August.

China, the largest foreign buyer of Treasury debt, reduced its holdings to $1.27 trillion in December. That marked a 3.6 percent drop from China’s November level of $1.32 trillion, a record for that country.

Japan, the second-largest buyer, trimmed its holdings to $1.18 trillion in December. That was down 0.3 percent from November’s total, a record for Japan.